How AI data centers create insurance opportunities: Swiss Re

Rapid investments into AI infrastructure and energy systems, as well as current geopolitical tensions, are driving new demand for insurance as developers build large and highly complex data centers, according to Swiss Re Institute.

This trend will act as a buffer to slower growth in other insurance areas, according to the Swiss Re report, "World insurance in 2026: Shock absorbers in a fragmenting world." Total real global premium growth, including life insurance and non-life business lines, will drop from 3.9% in 2025 to 1.3% in 2026 and 1.6% in 2027, Swiss Re predicts in its report.

At the same time, governments are prioritizing national security and supply-chain resilience, investments in AI data center infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing, offsetting supply shocks. AI data center investments are projected to reach $750 billion in 2026 and will contribute 0.2% to 0.3% of U.S. growth, according to Swiss Re estimates.

"The latest Middle East conflict is not a one-off shock, but another sign that geopolitical risk has become a structural feature of the global economy with four supply shocks in six years," said  Jérôme Haegeli, Swiss Re Group's chief economist. "As economies invest in AI infrastructure, energy systems and more resilient supply chains, entirely new pools of risk are emerging. Insurance has a vital role to play — not only in de-risking these investments, but in enabling the real economic transformation and giving the risk a price."

Swiss Re experts see a demand for "specialist solutions" to maintain trade and business continuity, as well as to bolster the explosive investments being made in AI.

"The AI boom is driving unprecedented infrastructure investment. Some of the largest AI data centers now carry total asset values exceeding $20 billion before technology installation, creating significant construction, operational and accumulation risks," said Ivan Gonzalez, CEO of Swiss Re corporate solutions. "These interconnected exposures call for solutions that go beyond traditional insurance, combining risk engineering, alternative risk transfer and financing to help businesses invest with greater resilience."

According to its projections, real life insurance premiums will decline to 0.6% in 2026 due to competitive pricing, slowing economic momentum and higher claims severity. Global life insurance premiums will yield a less significant drop from 4% in 2025 to 2.3%, as the impact of supply shocks on life insurers is less direct than on non-life insurance companies. 

The life insurance industry will stay resilient, though affordability issues may put pressure on growth in the medium and long-term. The report forecasts that life premium growth will stabilize at around 2% from 2026 to 2027, and shifting demographic trends should create growth opportunities for life insurers. The research also suggests that profitability outlook remains positive due to higher reinvestment yields and investment income, plus the AI investment boom, driving the next phase of growth in life insurance.